Guantanamo Canadian to serve 8 more years in prison

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba, (Reuters) – A  U.S. war crimes tribunal yesterday sentenced Canadian captive  Omar Khadr to 40 years in prison for charges that include  murdering an American soldier in battle but his plea agreement  capped his sentence at eight years.

That means the Toronto native will only serve eight more  years, in addition to the eight he has already been held at the  Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base.

The Canadian was 15 years old when captured in Afghanistan  in 2002 and is now 24. He is the first person since World War  Two to be prosecuted in a war crimes tribunal for acts  committed as a juvenile.

The plea deal calls for him to be sent home to Canada after  one more year at Guantanamo, although “The decision on that is  solely up to the Canadian government,” the judge said.Diplomatic notes exchanged between Washington and Ottawa  gave assurances that would happen, Khadr’s lawyers have said  previously.

Khadr pleaded guilty on Monday to all five charges against  him, including conspiring with al Qaeda to commit terrorist  acts and making bombs to target U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Tabitha Speer, the widow of the U.S. soldier Khadr admitted  killing with a grenade, cheered as the jury’s decision was read  in the hilltop courtroom at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base  in Cuba.